JP2008273767A - Method for producing zinc oxide and zinc oxide - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing zinc oxide which is readily dispersed without requiring intensive dispersion treatment, and to provide zinc oxide obtained by the method. <P>SOLUTION: The method for producing the zinc oxide includes: a step (1) of precipitating a deposit comprising a zinc compound by mixing a zinc salt, carbon dioxide and/or a carbonate and at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerol and polyglycerol; and a step (2) of firing the deposit obtained by the step (1). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing zinc oxide and zinc oxide.

Many UV screening agents are commercially available for applications such as cosmetics, paint additives, resin additives, processed pigments and the like. As such an ultraviolet shielding agent, those made of an organic substance and those made of an inorganic substance are known. However, an ultraviolet shielding agent made of an organic substance is excellent in transparency, but has a problem in irritation and durability. Further, since the ultraviolet shielding mechanism is mainly absorption, there is a drawback that only a certain region of the ultraviolet spectrum can be shielded.

An inorganic ultraviolet shielding agent has few problems such as irritation and durability, and can shield an ultraviolet ray by absorption and reflection, thereby protecting an object from a wide ultraviolet spectrum. Among them, nano-sized and submicron-sized zinc oxide has high visible light transparency and a wide range of ultraviolet shielding properties from the UV-A region, and is therefore widely used as an ultraviolet shielding agent in cosmetics and paints.

However, it is known that zinc oxide having a small particle diameter as described above has strong cohesive force and produces strong secondary aggregates. On the other hand, in order to obtain desired physical properties in applications such as cosmetics and paints, it is necessary to disperse the primary particles in the matrix. Therefore, in actual use, it was necessary to crush secondary aggregates by imparting a strong dispersion share. For this reason, the dispersion treatment may take a long time, and other substances used in combination may be modified due to heat generated by the dispersion.

A method of dispersing in a matrix after obtaining a dry powder with less aggregation by dry grinding is also conceivable. However, even in such a method, there is a limit to the crushing of the secondary agglomerates in the dry pulverization, and the energy is still required for dispersion from the viewpoint of energy efficiency. Furthermore, by crushing the dry powder, the apparent specific gravity of the powder became light and the handling property was also difficult.

As in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2, the particle shape is controlled by adjusting the formation reaction of zinc oxide or zinc carbonate as a precursor thereof, and high visible light transparency and UV shielding properties are obtained. It is also known that it can. However, even zinc oxide having a controlled particle shape requires a dispersion treatment when used, and a strong dispersion share is necessary to obtain high visible light transparency and UV shielding properties.

Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 describe a method for producing zinc oxide fine particles having a step of dissolving zinc carboxylate or zinc salt in an alcohol or a water / alcohol mixed solvent and hydrolyzing the mixture under alkaline conditions while heating. Yes. However, since the zinc oxide fine particles obtained by such a method synthesize zinc oxide in a solution, agglomeration occurs due to the surface charge of the powder during drying. In addition, the problems as described above cannot be solved. Moreover, since it is necessary to heat the alcohol mixed solution, it is disadvantageous in terms of equipment cost and safety.

Patent Document 5 describes zinc oxide fine particles having a carbon dioxide content of 0.1 to 3.0%. However, such fine particles are inferior in ultraviolet shielding property due to the low purity of zinc oxide. In addition, since it is difficult to control firing to obtain uniform zinc oxide with the above composition, there are cases where uneven composition occurs and dispersibility is poor.

International Publication No. 99/25654 Pamphlet Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 01-230431 JP-A-10-236822 JP-A-4-357114 JP-A-3-199121

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing zinc oxide that does not require strong dispersion treatment and is easily dispersed, and zinc oxide obtained thereby.

The present invention includes a step of precipitating a precipitate composed of a zinc compound by mixing zinc salt, carbon dioxide and / or carbonate, and at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin (1 ) And a step (2) of firing the precipitate obtained in the above step (1).
The polyglycerin is preferably a 2 to 8 mer.
It is preferable that the addition amount selected from the group consisting of the glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin is 3 to 60 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of zinc blended as a zinc salt.
In the method for producing zinc oxide, the obtained zinc oxide has a 50% cumulative diameter of 0.3 μm or less when dispersed in an aqueous 0.025 mass% sodium hexametaphosphate solution with an ultrasonic homogenizer, and under the same conditions. The measured 90% integrated diameter is preferably 0.8 μm or less.
The method for producing zinc oxide preferably further includes a step (3) of performing a surface treatment.
The step (3) of performing the surface treatment is preferably a step of performing a surface treatment with an organopolysiloxane.

The present invention is also zinc oxide obtained by the above-described method for producing zinc oxide.
The zinc oxide may be a colorant.
The present invention is also a cosmetic comprising the above zinc oxide.
This invention is also a coating composition characterized by containing the said zinc oxide.
The present invention also provides a resin composition containing the above zinc oxide.
The present invention has a 50% cumulative diameter of 0.3 μm or less when dispersed in a 0.025 mass% sodium hexametaphosphate aqueous solution with an ultrasonic homogenizer, and a 90% cumulative diameter of 0.8 μm measured under the same conditions. It is also zinc oxide characterized by the following.
The zinc oxide is preferably one that has been surface-treated with an organopolysiloxane.
The present invention is described in detail below.

The method for producing zinc oxide of the present invention is a method for producing zinc oxide having a fine primary particle diameter, which can be pulverized by crushing under relatively mild conditions.
The method for producing zinc oxide comprises depositing a precipitate composed of a zinc compound by mixing zinc salt, carbon dioxide and / or carbonate, and at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin. And a step (2) of firing the precipitate obtained in the step (1).

The step (1) is a step of precipitating a precipitate composed of a zinc compound by mixing a compound serving as a zinc source and a carbonate compound. The present invention is characterized in that in the step (1), the reaction is carried out using a zinc compound by reaction with a carbonic acid compound and at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin. . That is, when zinc oxide is produced under specific reaction conditions using a specific compound as described above, zinc oxide having a specific low cohesive strength can be obtained. Here, the precipitate obtained by the above step (1) is mainly composed of zinc carbonate and / or basic zinc carbonate, and may contain zinc hydroxide or the like depending on the reaction conditions.

The zinc salt is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid, fatty acid zinc salts, and organic acid zinc salts. One or more of these zinc salts can be used. The zinc salt can be dissolved in a solvent such as water or alcohol and used as a zinc salt solution.

The zinc salt is preferably added to a solvent such as water at a rate of 20 to 150 g / L in terms of zinc metal.

The carbonate is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate, and urea hydrolyzed in an aqueous solution. Of these, sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate are preferable. As the carbonate, one or more of these can be used. The carbonate can be dissolved in a solvent such as water or alcohol and used as a solution. Moreover, when using carbon dioxide, you may make it react by introduce | transducing into a system in a gaseous state.

The glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include diols such as ethylene glycol and 1,3-butylene glycol; polyglycerin such as glycerin and diglycerin. Of these, glycerin and polyglycerin are preferable, and diglycerin of 2 to 8 mer is preferable.

The addition amount selected from the group consisting of the glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin is preferably 0.05 to 50 parts by mass of the entire solution after completion of the reaction. If the addition amount is less than 0.05 parts by mass, the effect may not be sufficiently obtained. When the addition amount exceeds 50 parts by mass, problems such as an increase in cost and remaining in the precipitate occur. The addition amount is more preferably 0.5 to 20 parts by mass. Moreover, it is preferable to add in the range used as 3-60 mass parts with respect to 100 mass parts of zinc mix | blended as said zinc salt, and 10-50 mass parts is more preferable.

In step (1) in the method for producing zinc oxide of the present invention, a precipitate mainly composed of zinc carbonate and / or basic zinc carbonate is precipitated by mixing the components described above. In the step (1), a neutralization reaction between a zinc salt and carbon dioxide and / or carbonate is performed in the presence of at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin, thereby generating a precipitate. It is a process to do.

The mixing method in the above step (1) is not particularly limited, and unless there is salt precipitation, after adding at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin to the zinc salt solution, carbon dioxide and A carbonate solution may be added, and after adding at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin to carbon dioxide and / or a carbonate solution, a zinc salt solution is added. May be. Further, at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin may be added separately during the mixing reaction of the zinc salt solution and the carbon dioxide and / or carbonate solution.

In order to obtain zinc oxide having a finer particle diameter, it is preferable to shorten the neutralization time required for the neutralization reaction regardless of the mixing method. In order to shorten the neutralization time, for example, a solution of carbon dioxide and / or carbonate is added to a mixed solution containing a zinc salt solution and at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin. In this case, a method of increasing the addition rate can be exemplified. Further, zinc oxide having a finer particle diameter can be obtained also by a method of increasing the stirring speed of the mixed solution.
The pH of the mixed solution in the neutralization reaction is preferably 6-11. If the pH is less than 6, the neutralization reaction may not be completed, and zinc ions may remain, resulting in reduced productivity. When the pH exceeds 11, dissolution of the precipitate may occur and productivity may be reduced.
After performing the neutralization reaction, it is preferable to remove glycols, glycerin, polyglycerin and excess salts by filtration, washing with water, and the like.

Although it does not specifically limit as reaction temperature in the said neutralization reaction, It is preferable to make it react at 10-40 degreeC.

It does not specifically limit as baking of the said deposit, For example, it is preferable to carry out at the baking temperature of 350-600 degreeC. When the firing temperature is less than 350 ° C., for example, the decomposition of zinc carbonate is not completed, and carbonate radicals remain, which may reduce zinc purity and ultraviolet shielding ability. When the firing temperature exceeds 600 ° C., particles are fused, and the transparency and dispersibility of the resulting zinc oxide may be lowered.

The firing method is not particularly limited, and fluidized bed firing, fixed bed firing, or atmospheric air may be used. In order to eliminate uneven firing, a uniform temperature distribution is preferable.

The method for producing zinc oxide of the present invention may further include a step (3) of performing a surface treatment according to the purpose of use of the obtained zinc oxide. The step (3) for performing the surface treatment is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a step using an inorganic surface treatment agent or an organic surface treatment agent. Examples of the inorganic surface treatment agent include oxidized / silicon hydroxide, oxidized / aluminum hydroxide, oxidized / zirconium hydroxide, oxidized / titanium hydroxide, oxidized / cerium hydroxide, oxidized / magnesium hydroxide, oxidized / hydroxylated. Calcium can be mentioned. Organic surface treatment agents include organopolysiloxanes such as dimethylpolysiloxane and methylhydrogenpolysiloxane, alkyl silanes such as decyltriethoxysilane, higher fatty acids such as stearic acid, metal soaps thereof, and higher fatty acid esters such as octyl palmitate. And polyhydric alcohols such as trimethylolethane, trimethylolpropane and pentaerythritol, and amine compounds such as diethanolamine and triethanolamine. Further, coupling agents such as alkyl titanates, alkyl aluminates, and alkyl zirconates, and fluorine-based organic compounds such as perfluoroalkyl silanes and perfluoroalkyl phosphate esters can also be used. The surface treatment method is not particularly limited, and may be a wet treatment or a dry treatment, or a combination of a plurality of surface treatments. Since zinc oxide obtained by the production method of the present invention is excellent in dispersibility, it is easy to treat the surface of each primary particle, so that the surface treatment can be made more uniform.

In particular, the treatment with organopolysiloxane is particularly useful in terms of material stability, surface adhesion to the powder, and imparting water repellency and lipophilicity to the powder. In the treatment with the organopolysiloxane, it is usually preferable to attach the organopolysiloxane in the range of 1 to 20 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of zinc oxide. Preferably, it is the range of 3-10 mass parts. When the organopolysiloxane is less than 1 part by mass with respect to zinc oxide, the surface modification effect such as water repellency / lipophilicity may be poor. Is saturated, which is economically disadvantageous.

Zinc oxide obtained by the above zinc oxide production method is also one aspect of the present invention. The zinc oxide obtained by the present invention can exhibit good dispersibility without requiring a strong dispersion treatment. Since the dispersibility is good, the zinc oxide of the present invention has high transparency and can exhibit high ultraviolet shielding ability.

The zinc oxide of the present invention preferably has a 50% integrated diameter of 0.3 μm or less when dispersed in a 0.025 mass% sodium hexametaphosphate aqueous solution with an ultrasonic homogenizer, and 90% measured under the same conditions. The integrated diameter is 0.8 μm or less. By having such physical properties, better dispersibility can be exhibited.

The method for measuring the integrated diameter is as follows.
Add 0.5 g of zinc oxide as a sample to 100 g (0.025 mass%) of an aqueous solution of sodium hexametaphosphate, and use an ultrasonic homogenizer (Ultrasonic homogenizer US-600T manufactured by Nippon Seiki Seisakusho; use φ36 chip, output POWER6, vibration indicator V-LEVEL is adjusted to 3 to 3.5) for 10 minutes, and the liquid is dispersed by a laser diffraction particle size distribution analyzer (LA-750 manufactured by Horiba, refractive index 1.5; ultrasonic strength 7, ultrasonic operating time) 1 minute, measurement is performed with a circulation speed of 2 and a concentration adjustment so that the tungsten lamp transmittance is 70 to 80%.
The 50% cumulative diameter is more preferably 0.2 μm or less, and the 90% cumulative diameter is more preferably 0.5 μm or less.

The zinc oxide of the present invention has good dispersibility and high ultraviolet shielding ability. For this reason, in addition to being suitably blended as an additive in cosmetics, paint compositions, resin compositions and the like, it can also be suitably used as a processed pigment, a colorant and the like. In particular, since it is excellent in transparency and coating feel, it can be suitably blended in cosmetics. In addition, since it is excellent in dispersibility when a composition in which zinc oxide is dispersed in a matrix is used, stability can be maintained even when blended in a large amount, and a higher ultraviolet shielding level than before can be achieved. .

Since the zinc oxide of this invention has the above-mentioned performance, it can also be set as the dispersion excellent in the dispersibility. Since the zinc oxide of the present invention is superior in dispersibility compared to conventional zinc oxide, a good dispersion can be obtained without a strong dispersion treatment, and compared with the case where conventional zinc oxide is used. A dispersion having excellent visible light transparency and ultraviolet shielding ability can be obtained.

Furthermore, the present invention has a 50% cumulative diameter of 0.3 μm or less when dispersed in a 0.025 mass% sodium hexametaphosphate aqueous solution with an ultrasonic homogenizer, and a 90% cumulative diameter measured under the same conditions is 0. It is also zinc oxide characterized by being 8 μm or less. Since the zinc oxide has the above characteristics, it does not require strong dispersion treatment and can exhibit good dispersibility. The integrated diameter can be measured by the method described above.
The zinc oxide is preferably one that has been surface-treated with an organopolysiloxane.

The zinc oxide of the present invention can exhibit high transparency and excellent ultraviolet shielding ability without requiring strong dispersion treatment even when used in cosmetics, paints, and the like. Moreover, the zinc oxide which has the above-mentioned characteristic can be obtained with the manufacturing method of the zinc oxide of this invention.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited only to these examples. In the examples, “parts” and “%” mean “parts by mass” and “% by mass” unless otherwise specified.

Example 1
Polyglycerol (tetramer, 15 g) was added to a zinc sulfate aqueous solution (zinc sulfate 80.7 g, pure water 500 g), and then a sodium carbonate aqueous solution (sodium carbonate 106 g, pure water 300 g) was added at 50 ml / min. After the addition, aging was carried out at 30 ° C. for 30 minutes, followed by filtration, washing with water and drying to obtain a precipitate. This precipitate was fired at 400 ° C. for 2 hours to obtain zinc oxide 1. Here, the addition amount of polyglycerin was 23 parts with respect to 100 parts of zinc blended as zinc sulfate, and was 1.5 parts with respect to the whole solution after completion of the reaction.

Example 2
Zinc oxide 2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that ethylene glycol was used instead of polyglycerin.

Example 3
Zinc oxide 3 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that diglycerin was used instead of polyglycerin.

Example 4
Zinc oxide 4 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that polyglycerol (tetramer) was replaced with polyglycerol (octamer).

Example 5
Zinc oxide 5 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the amount of polyglycerin (tetramer) was changed to 5 g. The amount of polyglycerin added was 7.6 parts with respect to 100 parts of zinc blended as zinc sulfate, and 0.51 part with respect to the entire solution after completion of the reaction.

Example 6
Zinc oxide 6 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that glycerin was used instead of polyglycerin.

Comparative Example 1
A sodium carbonate aqueous solution was added to the zinc sulfate aqueous solution at 50 ml / min. After the addition, aging was performed for 30 minutes, followed by filtration, washing with water and drying to obtain a precipitate. This precipitate was fired at 400 ° C. for 2 hours to obtain zinc oxide 1 ′.

Comparative Example 2
Zinc oxide 2 ′ was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that isopropyl alcohol was used instead of polyglycerin.

Comparative Example 3
In 1 liter of water kept at 60 ° C., an aqueous solution of zinc chloride (136.4 g of zinc chloride, 1 kg of pure water) and a mixed aqueous solution of sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide (68 g of sodium carbonate, 80 g of sodium hydroxide, 1 kg of pure water) Were added dropwise at the same time so as to maintain pH 8, and neutralization reaction was carried out. The reaction was terminated when the addition of the aqueous zinc chloride solution was completed, the precipitate was filtered, and then excess salts were removed by washing with water, followed by drying at 105 ° C. for 12 hours. The dried powder was heated at 400 ° C. for 2 hours to obtain zinc oxide 3 ′.

The obtained zinc oxide was evaluated for dispersibility. By measuring the 50% integrated diameter and 90% integrated diameter of each zinc oxide, the state of aggregation in the case of a dispersion was confirmed, and the dispersibility of each zinc oxide was evaluated. For the 50% integrated diameter and 90% integrated diameter, 0.5 g of a sample is added to 100 g of a 0.025 mass% aqueous solution of sodium hexametaphosphate, mixed lightly with a spoon, and then an ultrasonic homogenizer (Ultra Seiki Seisakusho, manufactured by NSK Ltd.). Sonic homogenizer US-600T; using φ36 chip, output POWER6, vibration indicator V-LEVEL adjusted to 3 to 3.5) for 10 minutes, then laser diffraction particle size distribution analyzer (LA-750: Horiba, Ltd.) Manufactured). The specific surface area was measured with a fully automatic specific surface area measuring device 4-Sorb 4SU2 manufactured by Yuasa Ionics. In addition, as Comparative Examples 4 to 6, commercially available zinc oxide, NANOX-500 (manufactured by Elementis Specialties; comparative example 4; zinc oxide 4 ′), MZ-500 (manufactured by Teica; comparative example 5; zinc oxide 5 ′) and FINEX-50 (manufactured by Sakai Chemical Industry; Comparative Example 6; zinc oxide 6 ′) was used. The data is shown in Table 1.

In the examples and comparative examples, the specific surface area of each zinc oxide is not so different, and the primary particle size calculated from this specific surface area is about 0.020 to 0.030 μm. On the other hand, it is confirmed that the 50% integrated diameter and 90% integrated diameter of each zinc oxide are larger than the primary particle diameter obtained above and are agglomerated. However, it was shown that the 50% integrated diameter and 90% integrated diameter of the zinc oxide obtained in the examples were smaller than those of the zinc oxide obtained in the comparative example. That is, it can be evaluated that the zinc oxide particles obtained in the Examples are dispersed in a state in which the aggregated particles are small and the particle size distribution is narrow and the coarse particles are few compared to the zinc oxide of the comparative example.

Furthermore, visible light transparency and UV shielding properties were evaluated. Zinc oxides 1, 2 and 1 ′ were placed in a 100 ml mayonnaise bottle, and 10 g of Acrydic A-801P (manufactured by Dainippon Ink), 5 g of butyl acetate and 5 g of xylene were added. 100 g of φ1.5 glass beads were added to this and dispersed for 90 minutes with a paint shaker. The dispersion paint was uniformly applied to a slide glass with a bar coater # 6, and the transmittance was measured with a spectrophotometer (V-570: manufactured by JASCO Corporation). Visible light transparency was evaluated by the transmittance of parallel transmitted light, and UV shielding property was evaluated by the transmittance of total transmitted light. The data is shown in FIGS.
From the results, it was shown that the zinc oxides 1 and 2 of the present invention are excellent in transparency and shielding properties.

Example 7
Zinc oxide 1 obtained in Example 1 was put in a mixer, and organopolysiloxane (KF-9901: manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) was added thereto and mixed for 5 minutes. As a result of heating the powder with a hot air dryer at 120 ° C. for 24 hours, hydrophobic powder 1 was obtained. Using the resulting hydrophobic powder 1, an emulsion was prepared with the formulation shown in Table 2. First, the oil phase and the powder were mixed, mixed with a homogenizer for 15 minutes, and then the aqueous phase was added and further mixed for 15 minutes to obtain an emulsion sample 1. The obtained emulsion was uniformly applied to a slide glass, and the transmittance was measured with a spectrophotometer (V-570: manufactured by JASCO Corporation). Visible light transparency was evaluated by the transmittance of parallel transmitted light, and UV shielding property was evaluated by the transmittance of total transmitted light. The data is shown in FIGS.

Comparative Example 7
A hydrophobic powder 2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 7 except that the zinc oxide 1 ′ obtained in Comparative Example 1 was used. Furthermore, the emulsion sample 2 was produced with the formulation shown in Table 2, and data obtained by similarly evaluating the visible light transparency and the UV shielding properties are shown in FIGS.

3 and 4 show that the zinc oxide of the present invention is stably dispersed without agglomeration even when blended in an emulsion. The obtained emulsion is excellent in transparency and UV shielding properties.

The zinc oxide of the present invention has high dispersibility without requiring a strong dispersion treatment. Therefore, excellent transparency and ultraviolet shielding ability can be exhibited. Since the zinc oxide can maintain the above characteristics even when applied to various uses, it can be suitably used for cosmetics, paints, processed pigments, and the like. Moreover, the zinc oxide which has the said characteristic can be obtained suitably according to the manufacturing method of the zinc oxide of this invention.

It is the data which showed the visible light transparency of zinc oxide. It is the data which showed the UV shielding property of zinc oxide. It is the data which showed the visible light transparency of an emulsion. It is the data which showed the UV shielding property of the emulsion.

Claims (13)

A step (1) of mixing a zinc salt, carbon dioxide and / or carbonate, and at least one selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin to precipitate a deposit composed of a zinc compound; and A method for producing zinc oxide, comprising a step (2) of firing the precipitate obtained in the step (1). The method for producing zinc oxide according to claim 1, wherein the polyglycerin is a dimer to octamer. The zinc oxide according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one added amount selected from the group consisting of glycols, glycerin and polyglycerin is 3 to 60 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of zinc blended as a zinc salt. Manufacturing method. The obtained zinc oxide has a 50% cumulative diameter of 0.3 μm or less when dispersed in a 0.025 mass% sodium hexametaphosphate aqueous solution with an ultrasonic homogenizer, and a 90% cumulative diameter measured under the same conditions is 0. The method for producing zinc oxide according to claim 1, 2 or 3, which is 0.8 µm or less. Furthermore, the manufacturing method of the zinc oxide of Claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 which has the process (3) which performs surface treatment. 6. The method for producing zinc oxide according to claim 5, wherein the surface treatment step (3) is a step of surface treatment with organopolysiloxane. A zinc oxide obtained by the method for producing zinc oxide according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. The zinc oxide according to claim 7, which is a colorant. A cosmetic comprising the zinc oxide according to claim 7. A coating composition comprising the zinc oxide according to claim 7. A resin composition comprising the zinc oxide according to claim 7. 50% cumulative diameter when dispersed in 0.025 mass% sodium hexametaphosphate aqueous solution with an ultrasonic homogenizer is 0.3 μm or less, and 90% cumulative diameter measured under the same conditions is 0.8 μm or less. Zinc oxide characterized by The zinc oxide according to claim 12, which has been surface-treated with an organopolysiloxane.

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